Gemma Ward: Heath Ledger Was One of a Kind

On meeting Heath Ledger in New York in 2007: “We were both struggling with things that I won’t get into and we bonded over that. At first I said, ‘Listen, my mum’s living with me right now and I’m going through a hard time. I’m not interested in having a serious relationship,’ and he said, ‘Let’s just be there for each other through these hard times.’ And we developed a relationship and started seeing each other.”

On her memories about Heath: “He was an incredible person, unlike anybody I’ve ever met – and will meet ever again. He was one of a kind and extremely sensitive, extremely open, extremely honest, extremely generous, extremely energetic. He had time for everybody, no matter who you were. He was such an amazing talent.”

On her character in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: “Tamara is the typical siren. And what I found interesting about the mermaids in this movie is that the producers stayed true to mermaid mythology. The original story of The Little Mermaid was very gruesome – a lot of these old fairytales are.”

On her career: “I wasn’t a child [when I started out]; I was a teenager. I wasn’t all that innocent, either. I wasn’t taken advantage of – I knew what I was doing. I feel very powerful in myself now. I’m happy with where I am and I’m excited for my life and excited to embrace all aspects of it. I’m definitely not [regretful]. I look back on everything I’ve done with pride.”